The Rupee opened weaker on Monday, though most traders see the weekly bias tilted to the weaker side with year-end outflows and positioning likely to weigh on the currency. Conversations among bankers are focused on two key factors: the magnitude of the Reserve Bank of India's intervention that reversed the rupee's slide from 91 per U.S. dollar and how much pent-up dollar demand has resurfaced in both onshore and offshore markets following that move. Dollar demand linked to year-end NDF maturities is expected to keep the rupee under pressure, while interbank positioning remains skewed toward buying the pair on dips rather than looking for selling opportunities, he said. Beyond spot, attention this week will be on moves in the overnight swaps market and forward premiums. Bankers said excess dollar liquidity is likely to make the cost of rolling positions from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 volatile and inflated. Heavy dollar demand in the NDF market, along with concerns over the year-end rollover cost of excess dollars, had pushed premiums to multi-year highs before the Reserve Bank of India’s FX swap announcement helped cool them. The yen recovered some ground on Monday following a steep drop at the end of last week as markets weighed the timing of more interest rate hikes in Japan and the possibility of intervention in thin end-of-year trading. Japan has a free hand in dealing with excessive moves in the yen, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said last week. Those intervention warnings have helped keep a lid on dollar-yen positions, but pessimism about Japan's currency is showing up in other foreign exchange crosses, said Bart Wakabayashi, Tokyo branch manager at State Street. The yen strengthened 0.3% against the greenback to 156.13 per dollar after a 0.5% slide on Friday. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.1% to 97.96. The euro advanced 0.1% to $1.1780. The BOJ raised its policy rate to a 30-year high of 0.75% from 0.5% at its December meeting. The summary of opinions released on Monday showed many board members saw the need for further increases to the rate, which remained significantly negative in inflation-adjusted terms. In a thin economic calendar this week, the main focus will be minutes released on Tuesday from the Federal Open Market Committee's December meeting. The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.6714. New Zealand's kiwi was steady at $0.5830. Oil prices rose on Monday as investors weighed Middle East tensions that could disrupt supply, while a major hurdle remains in the Russia–Ukraine peace talks. Brent crude futures rose 56 cents, or 0.92%, to $61.20 per barrel at 0236 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 51 cents, or 0.9%, to $57.25.......